Apparatus for packaging small objects



April 1, 1969 Sheet w 1 I I I I/J/I 1/] VI IFF INVENTORY- ffiwae/ck 5. x/arra/v ATTORNEYS p ill, 1969 F. ELHO'RT N 3,435 589 APPARAT S OR PACKAGING SMALL OBJECTS. Filed Sept. 15, 1965 I Sheet 3 of 2 [767. I g EM RNEY United States Patent 3,435,589 APPARATUS FOR PACKAGING SMALL OBJECTS Frederick B. Horton, 1564 Sherin Drive, NE., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49505 Filed Sept. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 486,736 Int. Cl. B65b 67/00, 57/18, 57/20 U.S. Cl. 53-390 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to the counting and the packaging after counting of small objects such as medical tablets and capsules, and more particularly to a novel apparatus which preferably is small and light enough to be held in the hands and easily and rapidly operated manually to automatically count a predetermined number of small objects and deposit the counted number thereof in a predetermined pattern corresponding to the pattern of individual compartments within a given packaging receptacle.

Small objects such as tablets and capsules are generally sold and shipped in the first instance in bulk, and consequently they must be individually counted and packaged before their resale to or use by the ultimate consumer, whether it be an institution or an individual.

Many of the packages and receptacles in which such objects are ultimately sold or from which they are disposed contain a series of separate compartments which each hold a single tablet or capsule. These separate compartments are often arranged in a particular pattern which in one manner or another provides a system for regularly dispensing the individual capsules and also provides an indication of the total number of capsules which have at any given time been dispensed from the receptacle.

When the object involved is a capsule, the receptacle will likely have a number of individual elongated cylindrical compartments, and these may be oriented vertically and positioned in a particular pattern, such as a circle. Consequently, the filling of the various compartments within the receptacles with individual tablets or capsules is a laborious, cumbersome, and time-consuming operation, particularly in the case of hospitals and other large institutions which dispense a great many tablets and capsules.

Accordingly, it is a major object of the present invention toprovide an apparatus by which an exact predetermined number of tablets or capsules may quickly be counted from a larger bulk quantity thereof, and a further object to include means by which the measured number of objects may be released or dispensed into a wait ing receptacle.

Another important object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the foregoing character which is adapted to release the counted number of tablets or capsules in an individually spaced pattern corresponding to the pat: tern of the individual compartments within the receptacle, so that one tablet or capsule is automatically placed within each of the receptacle compartments.

A further major object of this invention is to provide apparatus of the character described which not only dis- 3,435,589 Patented Apr. 1, 1969 penses a measured number of capsules in a particular desired pattern, but which further positions each of said capsules in a predetermined orientation before discharging it, so that receptacle compartments having a particular shape and orientation may automatically be filled by a capsue which has been positioned in the proper orientation relative to that compartment.

A further important object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the foregoing nature which includes a tray structure for receiving and holding a bulk quantity of the objects to be placed within the receptacles, and which incorporates means by which the receptacle itself may be releasably attached to the apparatus, in order to simplify and even further facilitate the operation of the apparatus and the filling of numerous receptacles from the bulk supply of objects.

The foregoing important objects of the invention, together with other desirable attributes and features thereof, will become increasingly apparent following a consideration of the ensuing specification and its appended claims, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings setting forth a preferred embodiment of the invention which relates to one particular form of receptacle for use therewith.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an overhead plan view of the specific form of the receptacle with which the invention is to be described;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional elevation taken through the plane IIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a reduced, overhead plan view of the tray structure of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the structure of FIG. 3, taken through the plane IVIV thereof;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged overhead plan View of the chute means of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a sectional elevation taken through the plane VIVI of FIG. 5 and FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, sectional elevation of a portion of the structure of FIG. 6 in an assembled position with a portion of the structure of FIG. 4, showing the cooperation thereof and illustrating in phantom the function thereof.

Briefly stated, the present invention provides an apparatus for facilitating the counting and depositing of small objects such as tablets and the like into a given receptacle. The apparatus includes a tray structure for loosely holding a bulk number of such objects, with the tray structure having a plurality of openings formed therein of a size generally corresponding to that of the objects. Further, if the receptacle which is to be filled has separate compartments arranged in a particular pattern, the openings formed in the tray structure are arranged in this same pattern. The apparatus further includes means defining a plurality of chutes beneath the tray structure, with one of the chutes being in vertical alignment with each of the openings in the tray, and it also includes means operative to a first position such that the chutes and openings are clear for objects to pass therethrough and operable to a second position wherein the chutes and openings are effectively blocked to prevent the passage of objects. The arrangement is such that a desired receptacle may be placed beneath the said chutes with the operable means in the second position, the tray structure may then be manipulated to place one of the loose objects therein within each of the openings formed in the tray, and the operable means may then be placed in its first position to drop a counted quantity of the objects out of the openings and through said chutes, into the Waiting receptacle there below.

Finally, when the objects to be placed in the receptacle are capsules, the chutes are to have a particular configuration which changes the position of the capsules as they pass therethrough, to orient them in a desired predetermined manner within the receptacle compartments.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in FIGS. 1 and 2 is illustrated a particular capsule receptacle which has found very extensive use in hospitals and other institutions for dispensing narcotic and for barbiturate capsules. The receptacle 10 is basically a fiat cylindrical structure having a numbered series of upright cylindrical compartments 12 formed therein in a predetermined pattern, such as the circular pattern illustrated. The receptacle has a removable disc-shaped cover portion 14 which may be afiixed to its cylindrical body by a ratchet-type connection. The cover 14 has a single hole formed through it near its perimeter, and when this hole is in alignment with any of the compartments 12 and the receptacle is inverted, a capsule resting within that compartment Will be discharged therefrom while the remaining capsules in the other compartments are retained therein by the presence of the cover.

The ratchet attachment of the cover to the receptacle is such that the cover may be rotated relative to the receptacle in a series of indexed movements, each of which brings the hole in the cover into alignment with successive compartments. Thus, when the receptacle 10 has been newly filled and one capsule rests in each of its compartments, the cover 14 is placed into position over the various compartments and secured to the receptacle with the hole in the cover oriented over a blank compartment 16 positioned between adjacent compartments 12 in the circular pattern thereof. The cover may then be turned one notch each time a capsule is desired to be dispensed. This brings the hole in the cover into alignment with each succeeding compartment in the succession thereof and permits individual dispensing of the capsule resting in each compartment, Not only are the capsules easy to handle and dispense in this manner, but an accurate numerical record is automatically provided of the total number of capsules which at any given time have been dispensed.

Notwithstanding the many advantages and desirable features of the type of capsule receptacle just described, it will be quite apparent that the filling and refilling of each such receptacle requires several minutes of rather painstaking and monotonous labor and, when narcotics or barbiturates are involved (as is usually the case), this labor is required by law to be performed by a rather highly skilled person having pharmaceutical training. Consequently, the total loss involved in filling numerous such receptacles over long periods of time becomes very appreciable to any given institution, and the boredom and monotony connected with this task is rightfully resented and disliked by the technically qualified personnel Who are required to perform it.

The apparatus of the present invention provides a means for quickly and effortlessly filling such capsule receptacles. The uppermost component of the apparatus is the tray structure 20 illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4. This structure is a somewhat elongated tray having a bottom 22, an upstanding rear wall portion 24, and a continuous upstanding side wall portion 26. The tray structure 20 is preferably rounded at one end, and the side Wall portion 26 is curved to conform to this rounded end, as illustrated. The tray structure may be formed from any suitable sheet material, but is preferably formed from a polymeric plastic substance.

It will be noted that the bottom 22 of the tray structure has a circular array of horizontally disposed elongated openings 28 formed therein, near the rounded end of the tray. The arrangement of these openings conforms generally in spacing and pattern to the arrangement of the compartments 12 formed in the receptacle 10, and it is to be noted that the shape of each of the tray openings 28 is such as to receive a single elongated capsule of the familiar conventional form, although in the broader aspects of the invention these openings might be formed in any other desired shape The underside of the tray structure 20 (FIG. 4) carries a downwardly-depending stud or post 30, to which a laterally extending and horizontally-disposed resilient clip member 32 is rotatably secured. The purpose for these members will be seen subsequently. Finally, it is to be observed that a blank space 34 is provided in the bottom 22 of the tray structure, between adjacent spaced openings 28. This blank corresponds to the blank compartment 16 between the compartments 12 in the receptacle 10. Also, the underside of the tray structure bottom 22 has a slightly elongated notch 36 formed therein, which is located within the blank space 34 in the array of openings 28. The purpose for this will also be seen subsequently.

The chute-forming means 40 of the invention, which is positioned directly beneath the tray structure 20, is illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. This is basically a block of material which has a uniform thickness and which is formed to define an array of chutes 42 which are arranged in a pattern corresponding to the series of compartments 12 in the receptacle 10 and the array of openings 28 in the tray structure 20. The chutes 42 each have a particular configuration, which is best seen in FIG. 6. At their upper extremity, the chutes are generally of the same size and shape as the openings 28 in the tray structure, i.e., elongated, and having rounded ends.

The chutes gradually converge within the block 42 until at their bottom they are circular in cross section, and have approximately the same diameter as the compartments 12 of the capsule receptacle 10. In the most preferred embodiment of the invention one of the converging walls 44 of the chutes is substantially vertical, whereas the other such wall 46 is positioned at an acute angle relative to the vertical wall 44. However, both such walls may be inclined (at dilferent angles) in the same direction from true vertical, although the two walls should never converge from opposite sides of a vertical axis.

It will be observed that the arrangement of chutes 42 has a blank space 48 which interrupts the regular succession of chutes and spaces a pair of them, in the same manner as the blank compartment 16 of the receptacle 10 and the blank space 34 in the array of tray structure openings 28 noted previously. A-n upstanding pin member 50 is secured to the upper surface of the chute-forming means 40 within the area of the blank space 48, and four rounded protrusions 52 are preferably formed on the bottom surface of the chute-defining means, in the manner and at the position shown in the figures. Finally, a rectangular opening 54 is formed through the chute block 40 approximately centrally thereof.

The tray structure 20 and the chute-defining means 40 are assembled together to operate in cooperation with each other. This assembly is extremely easy and simple. All that is required is to position the chute-forming means 40 adjacent the bottom of the tray structure 20 and in contact therewith, with the upstanding pin 50 of the former engaged within the elongated notch 36 of the latter. The stud 30' and clip 32 of the tray structure passes through the opening 54 in the chute-forming means 40, and the stud 30 is preferably of such a length as to position the attached clip means 32 approximately level with the bottom surface of the chute means 40. The clip means 32 is then rotated ninety degrees relative to the tray structure and chute means, so that the clip resiliently bends slightly to pass over the rounded protrusions 52 on the bottom of the chute means. The clip thus retains the chute means in position beneath the tray structure by lying normal to and across the rectangular opening 54 of the chute means. Thus, the chute means is securely attached to the tray structure for operation therewith, but this attachment is such that by again rotating the clip means 32 ninety degrees, the tray structure may be quickly separated from the chute means.

To operate the novel apparatus of the invention to fill an empty capsule receptacle 10, the chute means 40 is first rotated slightly relative to the tray structure 20 about the stud 30, such that the upstanding pin 50 travels from one end of the notch 36 to the other, where the abutment of the pin against the end of the notch limits the allowable rotation of the chute means relative to the tray structure. In this position, the solid structure 42a between each of the chutes 42 is aligned centrally with each of the openings 28 formed in the tray structure. A number of loose, bulk capsules is then placed within the confining walls of the tray structure, and the tray is manipulated to slide the capsules into the area of the openings 28. By moving the capsules about with one hand, the operator may quickly fill each of the openings 28 with one capsule, with the capsules being retained therein due to the presence of the blocking structure 42a of the chute means 40 positioned at the bottom of each of the openings.

It takes only a second or two to fill each of the openings 28 with a capsule, and when this is accomplished the empty receptacle 1 0 may be positioned beneath the chute-forming means 40, such that the receptacle compartments 12 are in alignment with the circular discharge openings of the chutes 42. The chute means 40 and receptacle are then rotated slightly relative to the tray structure with the upstanding pin 50 of the chute means traveling to the other end of the notch 36 formed in the bottom of the tray structure, which again acts to limit the allowable rotation of the chute means relative to the tray structure. This acts to remove the blocking structure 42a of the chute means from beneath each of the tray structure openings, and aligns the top of each of the chutes with the corresponding tray structure opening, and with the capsule contained therein. Consequently, as FIG. 7 illustrates, each of the capsules (designated 60) falls directly from the opening 28, through the chute 42, and into the receptacle compartment 12, with the converging shape of the chute causing the descending capsule to be oriented vertically as it passes through the chute and into the upright cylindrical receptacle compartments. The receptacle is then removed from the apparatus and its cover 14 replaced thereupon with the capsules 60 therebetween, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2.

It is to be expressly noted that the receptacle 10 of FIG. 1 has a central rectangular opening 18 formed therethrough, by which the cover 14 may be secured to the receptacle by a clip structure similar to the clip 32 shown attached to the tray structure in FIG. 4. Consequently, the stud of the tray structure may if desired be made sufficiently long to allow the clip 32 which is rotatably secured thereto to extend not only through the opening 54 of the chute means 40, but also through the opening 18 of the particular receptacle 10 which is to be filled, so that the tray structure, chute means, and receptacle are all releasably secured together.

The advantage of such an arrangement will be immediately apparent, since although the receptacle may be removed from the filling apparatus of this invention after it has been filled, during the brief filling operation itself the hands of the operator are completely unencumbered and he may with complete freedom accomplish the filling of each of the openings 28 in the tray and the rotation of the chute means relative to the tray which discharges the capsules into the receptacle compartments. While this is a preferred arrangement, it will be well understood that other similar arrangements are entirely possible, and that certain of these would work with equal facility to the one just described.

From the foregoing description of the structure, assembly, and operation of the novel filling apparatus, it will be apparent that what has been provided is a unique device of relatively simple construction and great durability by which small objects such as tablets and capsules may easily and extremely quickly be counted from a bulk supply, oriented in a particular position, and deposited within individual compartments having a particular shape and arranged in a particular pattern. After having considered the foregoing disclosure, it is likely that those skilled in the pertinent arts may device alternate embodiments of the invention or various modifications in the preferred embodiment illustrated herein. All such embodiments and further modifications which are based upon the spirit of the invention and incorporate its concepts are, therefore, to be considered as within the scope of the claims appended herebelow, unless these claims by their language specifically state otherwise.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for facilitating the counting and depositing of small objects such as tablets and the like into a given receptacle having a predetermined number of object compartments arranged in a specific pattern, said apparatus comprising in combination: a tray structure for holding a number of such objects; said tray structure having a number of openings formed therein corresponding to the number of compartments in said receptacle and each of a size corresponding generally to that of the objects; said openings being arranged in a predetermined pattern corresponding to the pattern of the compartments of said receptable; means defining a plurality of chutes beneath said tray structure with each of said chutes communicating with a diiferent one of said openings; means movable to a first position relative to said tray structure wherein the chutes and openings are clear for objects to pass therethrough, and movable to a second position wherein the chutes and openings are effectively blocked to prevent the passage of objects; and means on said apparatus for releasably securing said receptacle to one of said tnay structure or said chute-defining means with the compartments of the former in alignment with the chutes of the latter whereby said receptacle may be so secured beneath said chutes with said operable means in said second position, said tray structure may be manipulated to place one of said objects within each of said openings, and said operable means may be placed in said first position to drop a measured quantity of objects out of said openings through said chutes and into each of the compartments in said receptacle for packaging, said receptacle then being releasable from said apparatus by operation of said releasable securing means so as to be useable sepanately of the apparatus.

2. Apparatus for facilitating the counting of elongated objects such as capsules and the like from a bulk quantity of the same and automatically placing the counted capsules upright within the compartments of a desired receptacle, said apparatus comprising in combination: a tray structure for loosely holding a number of capsules taken in bulk from said quantity; said tray structure having a number of horizontally-disposed elongate openings formed therein corresponding in number to the compartments in said receptacle and each of a size corresponding generally to that of the capsules; said openings being arranged in a predetermined pattern corresponding to the pattern of the compartments of said receptacles; means defining a chute beneath and in alignment with each of said tray structure openings; said chutes each having an elongate upper cross section corresponding generally to the longitudinally section of the capsules, a generally circular lower cross section corresponding generally to the transverse cross section of the capsules, and being convergent from the former to the latter; and means movable to a first position relative to said tray structure wherein the chutes and openings are clear for capsules to pass therethrough, and movable to a second position wherein the chutes and openings are eifectively blocked to prevent the passage of capsules, whereby said receptacle may be placed beneath said chutes with each of the upright receptacle compartments aligned with one of the chutes and with said operable means in said second position, said tray structure may be manipulated to place one of said capsules Within each of said openings, thereby accurately measuring a specific number of capsules from the greater bulk quantity in the tray, and said openat'ble means may be placed in said first position to drop the counted capsules out of said openings and into said chutes, wherein the capsules slide into vertical position and are deposited upright within the compartments of the receptacle.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein one end wall of each chutes is substantially vertical and the other such wall is disposed at an acute angle to the said vertical one.

4. The apparatus of claim 2, further including means defining means with the compartments of the former in alignment with the chutes of the latter.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,339,115 1/1944 Scherer 53-166 XR 2,604,245 7/ 1952 Shaw 53--247 XR 3,031,819 5/ 1962; Menolasino et a1. 53-247 XR 10 TRAVIS S. MCGEHEE, Primary Examiner.

NEIL ABRAMS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R.

for releasably securing said receptacle beneath said chute- 15 5378 

